A People's History of Democratic Thought

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Session Dates: July 15, 2018 - July 28, 2018

Equality. Liberty. Citizenship.

These key democratic ideals are at the forefront of modern American politics. This course aims to assess how these ideals have been extended or challenged by marginalized voices, including women, individuals of color and those historically excluded from the democratic process.

The course will begin with close readings and discussions surrounding the documents integral to America’s founding principles, as well as that of the political theorists who influenced them. Students will have an opportunity to consider how the perspectives of the disenfranchised and marginalized might force us to reconsider whether enfranchisement, equality before the law, and free market are robust enough to ensure full democratic citizenship for all Americans and to consider what true democracy demands of its citizens and institutions. The work of American activists and thinkers, such as Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Malcom X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, Bernie Sanders, Ava Duvernay and others, will also be included throughout the course, examining their roles as intellectual authorities on democratic thought.

Time in the classroom will include a combination of lectures, lively discussion, films and in-class projects. Students will also be asked to write one argumentative essay and to complete group work geared toward re-thinking our founding documents. These exercises are all designed to help students become better acquainted with the field of political science.